Aspects of the invention relate to remote devices, such as gaming systems, and more particularly, to an apparatus and methods relating to more accurately and efficiently report incidences of adverse events with remote devices, including but not limited to entertainment and electronic video game consoles.
Electronic forms of entertainment have drastically increased over the last decade. A large part of this increase is due to rising popularity of electronic games. Particularly in today's technological computer era, arcade games and other electronic devices have become very popular. The entertainment industry continues to flourish as the public ceaselessly demands an increasing array of talent and innovation to help relax from the tumultuous reality, or simply to satisfy their specific wants. Electronic games are no longer targeted to pre-teens and teenagers, but rather are enjoyed by every possible demographic group. Many modern games now allow any user to compete and/or communicate with other players around the world.
Although these electronic forms of entertainments have increased, many mechanical games remain popular. Further, some individuals still prefer to remove themselves from reality and as such, prefer to play games without communication abilities. In this regard, many arcades still include games such as air hockey and/or skeet-ball, which historically have not included remote communication abilities.
Unfortunately, with the increasing demand for these diverse entertainment devices, it is often difficult for an entity, such as a resort, a theme park, or any business, to fully grasp the operational conditions of these machines. This may be especially true for large entities and/or entities that have several machines distributed throughout several remote locations. Many machines by their nature do not offer any remote communication, and even those that do, may malfunction or may not be operational due to environmental conditions.
Nonetheless, it is a well-accepted fact that most, if not all, mechanical or electrical devices will fail or otherwise have an adverse event during their expected lifetime of use. For example, repeated usage of a joystick may cause mechanical failure of the joystick, thus subsequent users of the machine may experience an adverse event when attempting to play the game. Similarly, malfunctioning display devices or power supplies, whether user-inflicted or not, may lead to adverse events. Unfortunately, many amusement devices remain broken or otherwise under ideal operating conditions for several hours, days or even longer, before an individual besides a potential consumer is even notified of the malfunction. Oftentimes, this leads to a negative experience for each of the potential consumers and lost revenue for one or more business entities.
Many times, machines are not configured to provide an indication of their malfunctions to an individual. Some machines may be equipped with a blinking light or audible cue, however, such indications are rarely helpful, and maintenance crews are rarely located at that location. Even when a repair representative is present, that individual may not be best-suited to address the malfunction. Indeed, one or more various mechanical, electrical and/or electrical-mechanical failures may lead to adverse events. Further, given the vast types of different electronic devices, vendors supplying the devices, and/or maintenance contracts, it is often impossible to determine what entity to contact to remedy the situation. This is especially troublesome in locations having several devices located at different physical locations. For example, fairs, malls, and amusement parks often have several different types of machines distributed throughout multiple physical locations.
For these and other reasons, there exists a need for improved systems and methods for reporting and addressing adverse events experienced at remote devices.